Franz West (b. 1947 in Vienna - d. 2012 in Vienna), sculptor, object artist and actionist, was one of Austria's most important contemporary artists. He has taken part in both the Venice Biennale and documenta. His work is rooted in Viennese actionism whose aggressiveness it does not share; his interest is more in physicality and the exploration of physical and psychic experiences. The Passstücke (Pass Pieces) were conceived in the 1980s as "body-expanding sense-prostheses", and were intended to be fitted to his own body and used by the recipient. His later furniture-objects also invite participation, whereas his large, coloured aluminum sculptures with their abstruse forms confuse perception.